Package covering



P 3, 1957 E. L. AIKEN 2,805,018

PACKAGE COVERING Filed May 15, 1955 INVENTOR. EARL L. AIKEN F 5 BY .aimmz ATTORNEYS United States 2,805,018 PACKAGE COVERING Earl L. Aiken, Hickory, N. C. Application May 13, 1955, Serial No. 508,233

1 Claim. (Cl. 229-51 This invention relates to enclosures or coverings and more particularly to a covering or an enclosure provided as the original protective wrapping for a package of cigarettes, cereal, crackers and the like and which covering or enclosure may be used to enclose the top of the package after the same has been opened.

Much difficulty has been encountered in keeping the contents of packages free from moisture after the same has been opened. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a flexible inexpensive covering as the original protective wrapping of a package which covering is provided with suitable reinforcement so the same can be removed from the package when the same is opened and inverted to be placed over the open end of the package.

Another object of the invention is to provide reinforced sides and a reinforced end for a flexible covering or enclosure whereby when a package is enclosed or covered with the same and later opened, the reinforced end of the covering will act as a top wall for enclosing the open end of the package and the reinforced sides of the covering or enclosure will aid in guiding the covering or the enclosure along the sides of the package to close the open end of the package and to reinforce the sides of the package.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel method of covering a package.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description pr ceeds when taken in connection with the acompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an isometric view with the covering or enclosure applied to a package of cigarettes;

Figure 2 is an isometric view of the covering applied to a package of cigarettes after the same has been opened;

Figure 3 is an isometric view of the covering applied to a package of cigarettes wherein the covering is shown placed in inverted position to enclose the open end of the package of cigarettes;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken substantially along line 44 of Figure 3 and showing the covering or enclosure in normal position as applied to an open package of cigarettes to enclose the open end thereof;

Figure 5 is a reduced isometric view of the stiffening means removed from the enclosure.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, it will be observed that the reference numeral 1.0 broadly indicates an air-tight and moistureproof foldable covering or enclosure having a body portion 11 and end walls 12 and 12' enclosing a package P. A pull tab or tear tape 13 is provided for separating the end wall 12' from the body portion 11 of the enclosure when the package P is to be opened.

The enclosure 10 is shown in the drawings as applied to a package of cigarettes and in this instance is preferably formed from a transparent material such as cellophane. However, the material for the enclosure 10 may vary with the type of package being enclosed and may comprise removed from thebody portion 2 waxed paper, aluminum foil or media as desired. p J

In many instances it is desired to preserve a portion of the contents of a package after the end wall 12 has been 11by manipulation of the tear tape 13, V novel means and method whereby the remaining contents of an opened packagemay be substantially protected from air and moisture. It has been found that'the remaining contents of an opened package may be preserved by first removing the remainder fof the enclosure 10 and then repositioning the same in hood-likefashion over the open end of the package.

In order to facilitate the repositioning of the remainder least .two opposite surfaces. of the bodyportion, 11, and

in some instances "it may be desirable to connect corre-f sponding ends" of the stiflening members 14, 15 by an" additional reinforcement or stiffening member 16 disposed adjacent the end wall 12 to thus form a U-shaped reinforcement member. The reinforcement members 14, 15, 16 are preferably formed from thin relatively stiff cardboard but any other relatively stiff material may be employed, and any desired reinforcing means such as indicated at 14, 15 and 16 in the drawings may be either formed integral with the body portion 11 and end wall 12 or secured thereto by suitable means such as adhesive or heat-sealing.

Although the drawings disclose the reinforcements 14, 15 as being secured to the inner surface of the side walls of the body portion 11 it is to be understood that such reinforcements may, if desired, be secured instead to the outer surface of the side walls or to either surface of the front and rear walls of the body portion 11. In a like manner the reinforcement 16 may be secured to either the inner or outer surface of the end wall 12, or may be omitted entirely if desired.

It is also contemplated that the reinforcements 14, 15 and 16 may form a skeleton framework for the enclosure whereby the flexible material, such as cellophane, which comprises the remainder of the enclosure may be connected in overlapping relation to portions of the reinforcements, rather than extend completely thereabout as shown in the drawings.

It will be observed in Figure 1 that the top edge portions of the reinforcement members 14 and 15 are disposed just beneath the pull tape 13 so that the said top edges form the leading edges of the hood-like enclosure when the same is repositioned about the package P. In order to re-enclose a package P after the end wall 12' has been removed from the body portion 11 by manipulating the tape 13 to remove the end wall 12', the remainder of the enclosure 10 is removed from the package P by sliding the enclosure 10, including the reinforcements 14, 15 and 16, downwardly to disengage the package at which time the enclosure 10 is inverted and repositioned about the package P in the manner shown in Figure 3 to enclose the package as shown in Figure 4. The side and end reinforcement members 14, 15 and 16 being of relatively stiff material will provide the enclosure 10 with suflicient stability so the same may be easily inserted over the open end of the package.

Accordingly, there has been provided a novel method of covering a package and a novel enclosure formed as part of the-original protective wrapping for a package and which enclosure may be readily employed to protect the contents of an opened package from the elements, and from being spilled.

Although the invention is illustrated as applied to a package of cigarettes to protect the same from spilling,

Patented s p ."3,-1j,9s7;

other similar wrapping and the present invention provides; a'

perspiration, :rain, etc, it is understood that'the invention may be applied to any type of package.

It is apparent that the invention is equally useful with packages wherein the tape 13 is positioned adjacent the bottom of the package or end wall 12, with .the top of the package adjacent the end wall 12' being adapted to be opened to ,gain .access tc-the contents of the package. In this instance the only difference in operation is that the enclosure 10 should .be completely removed from the package before opening the top and :need not be invertedbefore repositioning .it about the opened package.

In the drawings :and specification .there has been set forth a preferred-embodiment of the inventionand although specific termsare employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive .sense only, and not for purposes oflimitation, the :scope of the invention being defined in the claim.

I claim: a

A covering vtor a package comprising a .body portion formed or thin flexible material and having opposed side walls and a-fixed end wall,-a removable end wall, a tear tape connecting said removable end wall with said body portion, and a U-shaped reinforcing member formed of relatively stili material secured within said body portion with the webof the reinforcing member adjacent the fixed end wall of the body portion and the legs of the reinforcing member extending along two opposed sides of the body portion, the free ends of the legs on the U-shaped reinforcing member terminating adjacent the upper edge of the body portion whereby upon said tear tape being pulled to separate the removable end wall from the body portion to permit the package to be opened and the body portion removed, the U-shaped reinforcing member will serve to slidably guide the body portion over the open end of the package to protect the contents of the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,864,871 Straus June 28, 1932 2,071,856 Segal Feb. 23, 1937 2,085,062 Allen June 29, 1937 2,383,728 Little Aug. 28, 1945 2,522,061 Rioux Sept. 12, 1950 2,678,768 Vergobbi May 18, 1954 

